When is the 2024 MLB Korea Series, and which teams will participate?
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While it’s not confirmed just yet, it’s likely that Major League Baseball (MLB) will be going international yet again for the 2024 regular season. The 2024 MLB Korea Series will reportedly take place next year and mark the first time that regular season games will be held in the country. Here now is a look at what you need to know about the Korea Series, including which teams are set to participate in it.
A Look at the 2024 MLB Korea Series
On May 7, ESPN reported that Major League Baseball will begin the 2024 regular season with contests in South Korea. This will mark the first time that MLB regular season games will be played in South Korea, and yet another venture outside of North America. The 2023 MLB season included regular season contests in both Mexico City and London.
It won’t, however, be the first time the league has contested games in Asia. Major League Baseball has held numerous affairs in nearby Japan, most recently in 2019 when the Athletics and Mariners squared off to begin the year. That series included the final regular season game of future Baseball Hall of Famer Ichiro Suzuki‘s career.
Per the report, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will be teams that will participate in the Korea Series. It won’t be the first time that the Dodgers will play games outside of North America, as Los Angeles started the 2014 season in Sydney, Australia against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
A few notes on the series itself are worth keeping in mind. For one, both the Dodgers and Padres have had Korean-born players play for these two franchises. Los Angeles does not have a Korean player on its roster as of this writing, but Blue Jays LHP Hyun Jin Ryu and former MLB right-hander Chan Ho Park spent time in Los Angeles. The Padres, meanwhile, have infielder Ha-Seong Kim on its active roster.
Second, it’s fair to expect that the Korea Series will be contested about a week to ten days before the start of the regular season in the United States and Canada. ESPN reported that the series will likely be held early enough for the two teams to return home and get acclimated back before things kick off in full for the 2024 season.
While we don’t have a date for these games as of this writing, one could expect the series to be held on the week of March 18, 2024.
